BSP supremo Mayawati today accused the Narendra Modi government of "insulting" the judiciary as she slammed the central dispensation's "tendency to demean" one of the important pillars of democracy.
"The malicious behaviour of the executive with the judiciary is not right. And it is an indication of the Centre's opinionated and arbitrary character," she said in a statement.
"It is unfortunate as it is the judiciary alone which is a ray of hope for the people of the country and the opposition, as BJP governments at the Centre and states are working against the pious intention of the Constitution," she said.
The BSP chief's response came after Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad stated yesterday that the executive was not committing a "cardinal sin" by seeking reconsideration of some proposals made by the Supreme Court collegium on the appointment of judges.
Referring to allegations that the Centre was stalling appointments to the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts, Prasad said neither the law minister nor the law ministry was a "post office" which would only process recommendations of the collegium on the appointment of judges.
Mayawati said if the BJP ministers were unable to respect the judiciary, they should at least refrain from insulting it.
"If the Union Law Ministry is not a post office, it has no right to become a police station, as the same has not been guaranteed by the Constitution.
"This should be modestly accepted by the government of Narendra Modi, and an improvement in behaviour brought
vis-a-vis insulting the judiciary. This will be in the interest of the nation," she said.
The Modi government had came under attack when it returned to the collegium its recommendation to elevate Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph to the Supreme Court, citing seniority and regional imbalance.
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